A lower-tier Norwegian football player has been detained in a match-fixing investigation, medicine sparked by the postponement of a weekend game by the Norwegian Football Association.

Norwegian publication NTB cites police as saying the player for third-tier club Follo, click who was not named, was suspected of ‘benefitting or receiving money for fixing match results.’

Club captain Anders Lubeck said on the team website Thursday that an investigation was necessary, but did not confirm that a player had been detained. Police could not be reached for confirmation.

Earlier this week, the Norwegian association asked police to investigate several suspicious match results and canceled a second-tier game because of fears of match-fixing.

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) wants to become the world’s biggest hockey league in two years’ time by more than doubling in size to 64 teams and conquering western Europe, league president Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday.

Medvedev wants the huge league to be operational in time for the 2013-14 or 2014-15 season, he said, adding that it would relegate national leagues to farm status.

“To create a top-notch international competition is necessary,” Medvedev told the IIHF Hockey Forum in Barcelona, in comments on the IIHF website.

A grand final against the Stanley Cup winners would allow Europe to rival the NHL, he said.

“We need to create a pan-European system for the talent in Europe and set up a super-competition between the winners of the Stanley Cup and Europe to define the best team in the world.”

Russia and other former Soviet countries would form a 32-team Eastern Conference, Medvedev said.

The other 32 teams would make up a European Conference, with 16 from Scandinavia and 16 from countries as diverse as Italy, the Czech Republic and Great Britain.

A 62-game regular season would be the norm, with 32 teams qualifying for a five-round playoff.

Unlike some national leagues in Europe, such as in Switzerland, teams could not be relegated to a lower division for poor performance, Medvedev said, adding that this would make teams financially stable.

An operational budget of 15 million euros ($18.8 million) would be enough for a team to compete, he said.

The KHL was established in 2008 featuring teams from four countries; Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan.

Next season’s competition will boast 26 teams from seven countries, more than ever before, although 20 of the teams are based in Russia.

Next season the KHL will have a salary cap of $36 million. This compares to $64.3 million last season in the NHL, which features 30 teams.

Rangers’ second-largest shareholder Dave King said on Wednesday the Scottish Premier League club faced “inevitable” liquidation as the Glasgow giants would be unable to solve their crippling financial crisis.

South Africa-based director King said in a 1,200-word statement he plans to sue Rangers boss Craig Whyte after the Scottish powerhouses were forced into administration last month.

“I do not believe that there is a reasonable prospect that the company can come out of administration,” said King. “I believe that liquidation is inevitable.”

In a bleak assessment of the turmoil gripping Rangers, King said the “footballing institution” of the club would survive but the company would not.

Rangers would probably have to reapply for membership of the Scottish Football Association, King said, a prospect which could mean the club would have to work their way back to the top flight from the lower leagues.

“It is a sad point to have reached, but if managed sensibly, it can result in Rangers returning to its former glory as a football club in the shortest time possible,” King said.

“We must all strive to ensure that an appropriate ownership structure guarantees that this event is never repeated.”

Meanwhile talks aimed at preventing redundancies at Rangers were due to resume on Wednesday, a day after breaking up without result after plans to introduce wage cuts were rejected by the agents of several players.

Negotiations involving the club’s administrators, players and their agents, manager Ally McCoist and Scotland’s Professional Footballers’ Association lasted most of the day but no agreement was reached.

The administrators said failure to settle on players’ personal terms had prevented a deal being done on Tuesday, although they were optimistic of reaching an agreement when talks resumed on Wednesday.

Previously on Tuesday, Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik became the first players to leave Rangers after administrators rejected a proposal by the squad to have wages deferred.

It is understood midfielders Wylde, 20, and Celik, 21, had their offers for voluntary redundancy with no pay-off accepted although the final details have still to be worked out.

Rangers were placed in administration last month after British tax authorities went to court to seek payment of an unpaid bill of £9 million ($14m) built up since owner Craig Whyte took control at Ibrox in May.

They are also awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal that could leave Rangers with a bill of up to £75m, according to Whyte.

The 140-year-old club were docked 10 points for entering administration, a penalty which effectively handed the Scottish Premier League title to arch Glasgow rivals Celtic.

Administration is the process whereby a troubled company calls upon independent expert financial help in a bid to remain operational.

by Ismail Uddin

The average Major League Baseball (MLB) salary increased 2.7 percent this year to nearly $3.1 million, the largest rise since 2008 it was revealed in MLB’s annual report.

The Major League Baseball Players Association announced the 913 players on Aug. 31 rosters and disabled lists averaged $3,095,183,  said Monday in its annual report, up from $3,014,572 last year when the average topped $3 million for the first time.

The average figures to go up next year, with the minimum salary rising from $414,000 to $480,000 under the new labor contract.

The New York Yankees had the highest average salary for the 13th consecutive season, but at $6.54 million it declined for the second straight year, down from a peak of $7.66 million when they won the World Series in 2009.

Philadelphia was second at $6.44 million, followed by Boston ($5.21 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($4.58 million) and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals ($4.47 million). AL champion Texas was 15th at $3.01 million.

Among other playoff teams, Detroit was ninth at $3.96 million, Milwaukee 11th at $3.41 million, Arizona 22nd at $2.12 million and Tampa Bay 28th at $1.54 million. Commissioner Bud Selig has pointed out several times that changes to baseball’s labor contract in recent years have increased competitive balance.

Kansas City was last at $1.34 million, just behind San Diego at $1.35 million. Pittsburgh, which was last in 2010, rose to 27th at $1.73 million.

Among regulars at positions, designated hitters took over as the highest average at $9.3 million, followed by first basemen at $8.9 million. With the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez spending time on the disabled list and failing to play 100 games at third base, that position’s average dropped from $6.5 million to $5.2 million.

Outfielders were at $5.6 million, second basemen $5.2 million, starting pitchers $4.9 million, shortstops $3.9 million, catchers $2.6 million and relief pitchers $1.9 million.

Despite a rain hit day delaying the start of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winter Classic on January 1, TV ratings had increased from the previous year. Some feared a 7 hour delay in the event from 13.00 – 20.00 local time would have a negative effect on the viewing figures though the event pulled in a 2.3 rating and 4 per cent share for NBC.

The game which saw the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 10 per cent increase in the ratings from last year’s game when Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers.

NBC has stated that the 2011 edition of the Winter Classic was the most-watched regular-season NHL game since 1975 with over 68,000 in attendance of the event.

Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner stated that he did not feel the rain had spoiled the event, “This is reality hockey when you take it outdoors. It becomes a little unpredictable. All in all it was a good event and we were very pleased with what we saw.”

He added: “I also want to make a point of thanking all of our partners on the business side, particularly our broadcast partner at NBC for showing the flexibility that was necessary to deal with the weather issues that we confronted.”